1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a method, apparatus and article of manufacture for controlling an electronic mail system, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus and article of manufacture for blocking a "Reply To All" command for received messages in an electronic mail system.
2. Description of Related Art
We are truly in an information age. Now more than ever, moving enormous amounts of information rapidly across great distances is one of our most pressing requirements. From the largest of corporations to small one-person or family-owned entrepreneurial efforts, more professional people are discovering that the only way to be successful in the nineties is to realize that technology is continuously advancing and that they must somehow keep up.
Likewise, researchers from all corners of the earth are finding that their work thrives in a networked environment. Immediate access to the work of colleagues and a "virtual" library of millions of volumes and thousands of papers affords them the ability to incorporate a body of knowledge heretofore unthinkable. Work groups can now conduct interactive conferences with each other, paying no heed to physical location. The possibilities are endless.
Currently we have at our fingertips the ability to talk in "real-time" with someone in Japan, send a sizable contract to a group of people who will critique it, see if a computer sitting in a lab in some remote location is turned on, and find out if someone happens to be sitting in front of their computer in Europe, all inside of thirty minutes. No airline could ever match that travel itinerary.
The desire to communicate is the essence of networking. People have always wanted to correspond with each other in the fastest way possible, short of normal conversation. In computer networking, electronic mail is the most prevalent application of this. Electronic mail allows people to write back and forth, and send documents without having to spend much time worrying about how the message actually gets delivered.
People that share common interests are inclined to discuss their hobby or interest at every available opportunity. One modern way to aid in this exchange of information is by using a mailing list. Since electronic mail is hinged around the concept of an address, a mailing list identifier representing and comprised of electronic mail addresses is a natural evolution of electronic mail usage. Any information routed to the mailing list identifier is redistributed and sent to out to the electronic mail addresses associated with the mailing list identifier. The actual electronic mail addresses associated with the identifier may be added to or deleted from as needs arise. Thus, any mail sent to the mailing list identifier will "explode" out to each person named in the file maintained on a computer. Each person on the mailing list may then reply to the electronic mail message.
A recipient of an electronic mail message often may reply to the message by selecting among options display on a menu. A new message window may be displayed and the reply is automatically addressed to the sender. Thus, the recipient of a message may select to send a reply only to the sender of the message. However, it is often possible for the recipient to also send a reply to all members addressed by the original message. If the recipient chooses to send the reply to the sender and the other addressees, the reply may be automatically routed to the sender of the original message and to everyone who received it. This "Reply To All" command or option is therefore useful for carrying on group discussions electronically. If the sender does not want the recipient to send a reply to the sender and the other recipients, the sender must place specific instructions in the body of the message.
Some electronic mail programs allows the "Reply To All" option to be set as the default. This often results in an barrage of inadvertent mailings and can become a nuisance. Thus, caution must be used when replying to a message sent to a group mailing list.
It can be seen then that there is a need for a method, apparatus and article of manufacture that blocks a "Reply To All" option with an electronic mail system.